OK guys I’m pouring the Brett cultures into the tubes right now and they’ll be at Brooklyn Homebrew around 12-1 tomorrow.
A couple last minute observations:
C3 flocculates really well while C2 is slower in that respect.
With more time C2 also takes some vinous characteristics.
With more time C3 also takes some fruity characteristics.
Hope you enjoy these yeast and please let me know what you think of them.
Cheers!
I know it’s been a long time and some of you have contacted me regarding the possibility that this project is no longer active, but YES, it is still very active and is progressing! As I’m typing this there are two starters of C2 and C3 spinning on my desk. This weekend (most likely Sunday) I’ll bring some vials of each of these cultures to Brooklyn Homebrew for you Brett-heads to play with. Now, as before, you use these yeasts at your own risk and if your beer turns out horrible and poisonous I am not to blame. It would also be nice to get your tasting notes or even a bottle of whatever you added these bugs to. The yeast count won’t be too high in these vials so if you plan to use them as the main fermentor please make a starter.
A bit of preliminary data from 5ml and 35ml primary cultures:
C2: seems to be a slower grower, and probably a slower fermentor. Forms a pellicle, but not very quickly. Can’t really tell as to how dry it ferments. Perhaps the most interesting character of this yeast is the smell. I used it to inoculate 5 and 35ml cultures of both Luria Broth and a DME-based medium and in both cases it ended up smelling sweet and fruity with wild strawberries (Fragaria vesca) coming to mind most of all. At least that’s what I associate the smell with since I grew up picking those things in the forests and marshes. For those of you unfamiliar, imagine a strawberry aroma mixed with wood, earth, damp moss and other warm fuzzy fruits as well as a hint of the typical Brett funk. I don’t know how it would turn out in an actual beer, but I plan to try ASAP and will ferment a batch of blond ale with it as soon as I can brew it. For those of you who know what Luria Broth smells like, to turn THAT into fruits… Quite impressive. Fermenting DME-based medium ended up with same results only more pronounced fruitiness and funk. I’ll start raising a starter for my own brew as soon as I dispense this one into tubes for you guys.
Cantillon Iris (2007) C2
C3: seems to be a more vigorous fermentor than C2, raising more krausen and forming a pellicle faster. Again an interesting aroma – sour, funky and citrusy in LB; sour, citrusy, funky and very vinous (like dry white wine) in DME-based medium. Can’t tell you much beyond that. I’ll raise a starter for myself as well for a saison with obscene amounts of lemon/lime/orange peel additions that I have planned.
Cantillon Iris (2007) C3
As soon as that’s over with I’ll prepare starters of all three Cantillon yeasts I isolated as well as WYeast Berliner Blend Brett to mail to those of you outside NYC and we’ll discuss mailing and trading arrangements. I’ll make a post when that happens with my email so that you could contact me in that regard.
Cheers!
Alrighty!
The moving is pretty much over with. The new lab is set up and working *hint-hint*. And I have not brewed anything since around April. So in order to not die of thirst, I decided to drink the Winter Gruit and a Porter I had sitting around. It should be noted that I did not add Brettanomyces to the Gruit as originally planned due to unforeseen circumstances, but it turned out fine nonetheless.
Appearance: Dark reddish amber and crystal clear. Thin head recedes quickly and is gone completely within a minute or two.
Aroma: Musty juniper greens and wood. Sweet. Earthy and herbal.
Mouthfeel: Light, thin, slightly prickly. Medium-high carbonation.
Taste: Malt quickly fades to give way to juniper wood. Seems very sweet despite finishing at 1.002. Farmhouse character. The sweetness goes away quickly giving way to slight tartness and dry, mouthwatering finish. Finish is surprisingly long and tart for such a seemingly thin beer. Very refreshing.
Overall: I’m glad I decided to drink it now rather than wait until the winter because this is in no way a winter brew. It’s perfect for this weather. Light, refreshing, prickly, playful. Took a little to get used to it, as is the case with all hopless beers, but once I did, it’s really rather nice.
BKYeast 